Steve Clarke explains why Tony Ralston’s horror backpass that led to Xherdan Shaqiri’s wondergoal was only a ‘small mistake’… as he heaps praise on his Scotland side after their 1-1 draw with Switzerland

Steve Clarke insisted that his side performed ‘much more’ like a Scotland team after they drew 1-1 against Switzerland to keep their qualification hopes alive at the Euros.

‘That’s what we expected. It’s a good reaction to the other night,’ the Scotland boss said. ‘This is the way we’ve been playing and it’s the reason we’re here at a major tournament. We showed we can play, we did what we had to do and we’re still in the competition,’ added Clarke.

After a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany in Munich, Scotland put in a much-improved display in Cologne, taking the lead through Scott McTominay before Switzerland equalised through a Xherdan Shaqiri wonder strike following a mistake from Tony Ralston.

Clarke’s men will now head to Stuttgart knowing that a win against Hungary on Sunday would in all likelihood secure progress and see them out of the group stage of the European Championship for the first time in their history. And the Scotland boss was adamant that the target has always been to get four points from three games.

‘I believe if we get those three points, we go to the next stage,’ he said. ‘The reality is that the way the draw was made, even if we played well against Germany, we’d probably have been in a similar position to get something from this game to take it into the last game and that’s what we’ve done,’ Clarke added.

Steve Clarke (right) defended Tony Ralston (left) after his backpass led to Switzerland’s equalise in Scotland’s 1-1 draw on Wednesday

Ralston’s backpass was pounced on by Shaqiri (right) who finished expertly in the first half

Angus Gunn can only watch the ball fly into the top corner following a bit of Shaqiri brilliance

Meanwhile, Switzerland boss Murat Yakin hailed Xherdan Shaqiri after the 32-year-old scored one of the goals of the tournament with a first-time left-footed strike that nestled into the top corner. Shaqiri, who plies his trade for Chicago Fire, also became the first Swiss player to appear in seven major tournaments.

‘He (Shaqiri) proved it that he lives and breathes for moments like these,’ said Yakin. ‘He has shown it time and again. It was an unbelievably clinical strike,’ the Swiss boss.

Clarke defended Ralston after his backpass was pounced on by Shaqiri, who also became the only player to score in each of the last three European Championships and last three World Cups.

‘When Tony (Ralston) made the mistake, it was a small mistake. If that chance falls to any other player in the Swiss team, it’s not a goal,’ said Clarke. ‘That tells you how good a player I think he is.’

Despite getting a crucial point, Scotland lost Kieran Tierney late on, with what looks like a hamstring injury that is set to rule him out of the tournament. And Clarke confirmed that Tierney would at the very least miss the clash on Sunday against a Hungary side, led by Dominik Szoboszlai.

Shaqiri (left) also became the first Swiss player to appear in seven major tournaments

Clarke (left) claimed Ralston (right) ‘made a small mistake’ due to Shaqiri’s quality

‘He’s definitely out. It looks pretty bad. We have to assess it but Kieran won’t make the next game,’ said Clarke. ‘He’s a top player for us. Does ever so well. It’s a shame but someone else has got to step in and step up to the mark.’

In the other game in the group, Germany beat Hungary 2-0 to secure qualification. The hosts take on Switzerland, who have four points, in Frankfurt on Sunday as Group A concludes.